Saudi air strikes bombards wedding hall in Yemen

At least 40 people were killed when a wedding hall in southwest Yemen was bombarded in a suspected Saudi-led coalition air strike, medics and witnesses say.

"The bodies of 31 people, including children, have been taken to a hospital in Mokha," said a medical source, who later raised to 40 the death toll at the hall in the Red Sea city.

He said dozens of people were wounded in Monday's raid, most of them seriously.

Witnesses reported that warplanes struck the wedding hall in Mokha, which is controlled by Shi'ite Huthi rebels.

However, one resident who requested anonymity said: "I didn't hear any warplanes."

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which launched an air war on the Huthi rebels in late March in support of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

"This is a new crime that is added to the massacres committed by the Saudi regime against the people of Yemen," said the rebel-controlled Saba news agency, citing official statements protesting the bombing.

Several coalition air strikes have hit non-military facilities killings dozens of civilians over the past six months, prompting condemnation from rights groups.

In late August, an air raid struck a bottled-water factory in the northern province of Hajja, killing 17 civilians and 14 rebel fighters.

Warplanes in July attacked the residences of employees of a power plant in Mokha, killing 65 civilians, while a raid on a dairy plant in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in April left 35 civilians dead.

The United Nations says nearly 4900 people, including a vast number of civilians, have been killed in Yemen's conflict since late March.